Leinster vs Ulster | PRO14 Final 2020
The official matchday programme of the Guiness Pro14 Final 2020, between Leinster vs Ulster. 12th September 2020 | Aviva Stadium
The official matchday programme of the Guiness Pro14 Final 2020, between Leinster vs Ulster.
12th September 2020 | Aviva Stadium
- TAGS
- ulster
- leinster
- rugby
- rugby-union
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GUINNESS <strong>PRO14</strong> FINAL<br />
GUINNESS PLAYERS’<br />
PLAYER OF THE<br />
SEASON<br />
Duhan van der<br />
MERWE<br />
(EDINBURGH)<br />
No player has been more<br />
dangerous with the ball in<br />
hand in the 2019/20 Guinness<br />
<strong>PRO14</strong> season than electrifying<br />
Edinburgh winger Duhan van der<br />
Merwe.<br />
The mere sight of the 25-year-old<br />
has struck fear in the opposition<br />
– and he has now been named<br />
the Guinness Players’ Player<br />
of the Season for his standout<br />
campaign.<br />
Earning the recognition of his<br />
fellow players is just reward for<br />
the South African-born flyer, who<br />
carried his regular season form<br />
into Edinburgh’s Semi-<strong>Final</strong> clash<br />
with <strong>Ulster</strong>.<br />
While his efforts ultimately<br />
proved to be in vain as Scotland’s<br />
capital team were beaten 22-19 in<br />
a dramatic finale, Van der Merwe<br />
was once again one of the best<br />
players on the pitch.<br />
He finished the game with eight<br />
successful carries, three clean<br />
breaks and 13 defenders beaten<br />
for a total of 101 metres, with<br />
<strong>Ulster</strong>’s Rob Lyttle his nearest<br />
rival with 78 metres.<br />
It was a performance that<br />
appeared to have guided<br />
Edinburgh to their first Guinness<br />
<strong>PRO14</strong> <strong>Final</strong> before <strong>Ulster</strong><br />
mounted a late comeback, sealing<br />
victory in the 80th minute.<br />
But Van der Merwe’s display at<br />
BT Murrayfield was nothing out of<br />
the ordinary for a player who has<br />
consistently brought his A-game<br />
week-in, week-out throughout<br />
this season.<br />
In fact, he finished the regular<br />
campaign top of the stats charts<br />
in several different categories,<br />
with the most clean breaks (32),<br />
defenders beaten (80) and<br />
metres gained (971).<br />
To hammer home just how good<br />
he has been, you only have to<br />
look at the stats of his nearest<br />
rival in each table, Rhyno Smith,<br />
who is a distant second in all<br />
three categories.<br />
Smith gained 229m less, beat 31<br />
fewer defenders and made 14<br />
fewer clean breaks than his fellow<br />
back-three star.<br />
With such a potent weapon<br />
on the wing, it is no surprise<br />
Edinburgh have enjoyed such a<br />
magnificent season as Richard<br />
Cockerill’s side finished top of<br />
Conference B.<br />
One of the highlights of Van der<br />
Merwe’s campaign came in Round<br />
4 when he scored a hat-trick<br />
in a 46-7 victory over Scarlets,<br />
including two tries in the opening<br />
ten minutes.<br />
That was by no means the end of<br />
his try-scoring exploits though,<br />
with another coming against<br />
Dragons in a 20-7 triumph at BT<br />
Murrayfield in Round 6.<br />
He scored one of eight tries<br />
against Isuzu Southern Kings<br />
when Edinburgh romped to a<br />
61-13 success before also crossing<br />
the whitewash against Scarlets<br />
again and Connacht.<br />
Finishing with seven tries in total,<br />
fifth in the leading try scorer<br />
table, there is no doubt that van<br />
der Merwe will continue to light<br />
up the Guinness <strong>PRO14</strong> for many<br />
years to come.<br />
TOP TRY-SCORER<br />
RHYNO SMITH<br />
(TOYOTA CHEETAHS)<br />
Toyota Cheetahs full-back<br />
Rhyno Smith was key to<br />
the South African team’s<br />
remarkable home form where<br />
they scored 196 points across<br />
four games. But it was not just<br />
home comforts that worked for<br />
the Free State speedster, who<br />
scored four of his 10 tries away<br />
from home.<br />
BIG RED CLOUD TURNOVER KING<br />
JOSH MacLEOD<br />
(SCARLETS)<br />
The West Wales region have a strong<br />
pedigree for snaffling the ball away<br />
from the opposition at the breakdown<br />
with James Davies and ex-Scarlet<br />
Tadhg Beirne appearing high in the<br />
turnover charts in the past couple of<br />
seasons. In the absence of Davies during this<br />
campaign, MacLeod has performed strongly<br />
at openside picking 23 turnovers to earn the<br />
Big Red Cloud Turnover King award.<br />
58<br />
12|09|20 AVIVA STADIUM | DUBLIN